MISTAKES CAN MAKE US BETTER
Students were in class - Further maths class - the most dreaded class in those days, probably even now. And now - the Further Maths teacher - he was no rookie in that subject. He's even the school principal at that time. He's in his sixties so students call him 'Baba'. Matter of fact, he's one of the authors of the further maths textbook. A textbook used nationally. Seated quietly somewhere in the middle of the bench in a class of over 60 students, I paid rapt attention to the algebraic jargons being scribbled all over every available space on the blackboard.
About 45 minutes into the class, the silence was freezing as students grappled with the long expressions. 'Baba' made understanding no easier because he talks as fast as he writes. And then 'boom!', Student A spotted a rare error in between the lines. 'Baba' had written a plus(+) somewhere instead of a (-) and that gave the equation a whole new answer. And that answer was WRONG.
How do you correct a guru, an author of the textbook he's teaching from, the principal, a man in his 60's. Student A was just a teenager. He was terrified. What if he's wrong. But He shook that off and broke the silence. 'Sir, there's an error'. All eyes on him. Everybody. 'Baba' reluctantly reviewed his very long solution. The x squares and y cubes and the rest. Alas!
He was right and was rewarded, 'Baba' gave him money, new notes. He was applauded, a heroic applause. He had done what no one else could do. He became a star in the class. Everyone gave him their problems to solve. Maths became his best subject in school. He has even written a textbook on it.
Lesson:
No one is too big to make mistakes. Everyone makes them. Even professors. Most of the worlds inventions came through mistakes. The microwave oven, super glue, X-Ray, Coca-Cola, saccharin, are inventions that came accidentally.
Don't always go with the Flow. Think critically and make corrections where necessary. But let your attitude not betray your wit. Let your timing be right. With the right attitudes, together we will change the world for better.
Learn from your mistakes. When you do, you grow stronger and become better. Don't repeat mistakes. From that day on, 'Baba' taught slower, and we understood more. More students loved the subject. And more students passed it.
